EP0368693A1 - Box-suitcase to store various items, in particular do-it-yourself hardware - Google Patents

Abstract

The box-suitcase comprises a container (1) and a lid (2) whose rear walls are connected together with a hinge. The front wall (8) of the container (1) is integral with two substantially U-shaped parts (14) separated from each other by a recess (15) along which runs the handle (16), the centre (17) of each U part (14) being integral with the foot of a flexible tab (20) whose upper end has an outwardly-projecting tooth (22) that is able to interact with a notch in the front wall (27) of the lid (2), while the flank (19) of the U part considered as defining the recess (15) delimits a slot in which a free end of the handle (16) can slide back and forth, this end being provided with a retaining means. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a suitcase box for the storage of various articles, in particular hardware for DIY.

Such a suitcase box is known and comprises a housing and a cover, the rear walls of which are connected together by a hinge and the front walls of which are capable of being locked relative to each other, the front wall of the housing being provided with a handle.

A first drawback of this known suitcase box is that the locking system and the means for hooking the handle encroach on the interior volume and clutter up certain boxes. In addition, these service members protrude outside and can hinder or compromise the storage in a piece of furniture.

A second drawback lies in the fact that the locking is not perfectly secure. Therefore, if the suitcase unexpectedly opens its contents spills on the floor and the various items mix, which leads to a great waste of time to store the said items again.

The present invention aims to develop a different design of the bag, thanks to which the housing and the cover can be made of plastic material molded monolithically and by integrating the locking system as well as the hooking means of the handle.

Concomitantly, it aims to remedy the drawbacks of known suitcase boxes by completely freeing up their interior space and by accommodating said locking system and the handle in a flattened volume.

Due to this new design, the cost price of the suitcase box is competitive compared to that of known suitcase boxes, the aforementioned advantages constituting a more necessarily appreciated by the customers.

The present invention also aims to improve the arrangement of the boxes so that the interior volume can be used with an optimal filling rate and so that the production of said boxes can be carried out without any particular constraint during the aforementioned molding.

For this purpose and in accordance with the invention, the front wall of the housing forms a body with two parts shaped substantially in a U and separated from each other for a clearance in which the handle extends, the core of each part. U-shaped body with the foot of a flexible blade whose upper end has a tooth projecting outwardly and capable of cooperating with a notch in the front wall of the cover, while the wing of the U-shaped part considered defining the clearance defines a light in which can slide a free end of the handle which is provided with a stop means.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the core of each U-shaped part constitutes in its vertical middle part the flexible blade and delimits two slots opening at the top to release the sides thereof.

Each U-shaped part and the front wall of the housing define between them a well, the front wall projecting therein a rib forming an end of bending stop of the blade determining unlocking.

The cover is provided with a retractable finger capable of projecting into the well of the housing and of being interposed between the rib and the flexible blade to block said blade in the position of locking of the cover.

The or each blocking finger forms a body with a slide guided in the cover and capable of occupying a blocking position and a retracting position.

Each end of the handle forms two jaws separated by a slot, the two jaws being capable of approaching one another when the handle is mounted in the corresponding lumen, of sliding in the well during the retraction of the handle and abut by elastic return against the edges of said lumen when gripping said handle which forms in a hoop.

Partitions of the housing are integral with vertical slides for the placement of labels.

Various other characteristics and advantages of the invention will also emerge from the detailed description which follows.

Embodiments of the object of the invention are shown, by way of nonlimiting examples, in the accompanying drawing.

• - la figure 1 est une perspective partielle montrant une première forme de réalisation de la boîte-valise conforme à l'invention,
• - la figure 2 est une vue en plan de dessus du boîtier.
• - la figure 3 est une vue en plan partielle prise suivant la ligne III-III de la figure 1 et illustrant le système de verrouillage et la poignée dans le boîtier.
• - les figures 4 et 5 sont des vues analogues à la figure 3, illustrant sur le couvercle un contre-verrouillage en position d'escamotage et respectivement en position d'intervention,
• - la figure 6 est une élévation partielle de la boîte-valise prise suivant la ligne VI-VI de la figure 3,
• - les figures 7 et 8 sont des coupes partielles prises suivant les lignes VII-VII et respectivement VIII-VIII de la figure 6.
• - La figure 9 est une vue analogue à la figure 1 montrant une deuxième forme de réalisation de la boîte-valise.

On this drawing :

• FIG. 1 is a partial perspective showing a first embodiment of the suitcase box according to the invention,
• - Figure 2 is a top plan view of the housing.
• - Figure 3 is a partial plan view taken along line III-III of Figure 1 and illustrating the locking system and the handle in the housing.
• FIGS. 4 and 5 are views similar to FIG. 3, illustrating on the cover a counter-locking in the retracted position and respectively in the intervention position,
• FIG. 6 is a partial elevation of the suitcase box taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 3,
• - Figures 7 and 8 are partial sections taken along lines VII-VII and respectively VIII-VIII of Figure 6.
• - Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a second embodiment of the suitcase box.

The suitcase box comprises a housing 1 and a cover 2, the rear walls of which form a body with ears 3 and 4 respectively intended to be crossed by hinge pins 5 in order to constitute a connecting hinge.

The housing 1 is made of plastic material injected under pressure into a mold and all of its constituent elements described below have come from molding in order to form a monolithic assembly.

This housing has, projecting from a bottom 6, a rear wall 7, a front wall 8 and side walls 9.

According to the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, longitudinal partitions 10 and transverse partitions 11 crossing at right angles are molded with the housing.

These partitions are distributed so that the boxes 12 which they delimit have an increasing width from the rear to the front, their length being constant. Of course, their length can be variable from one row to another and the partitions can be interrupted in certain places to form a single larger box with two or three neighboring boxes.

Furthermore, strips 13 are formed projecting in each box 12, on the transverse partitions 11 which delimit the latter and near the longitudinal partition considered to form slides in which removable labels can be inserted.

According to the second embodiment illustrated in Figure 9, the housing 1 is free of partitions 10, 11, but it contains cups 40 arranged one next to the other. These buckets are intended to receive the articles to be stored and, since they are removable, they can be put within the immediate reach of the user. Of course, the dimensions of the buckets can be variable provided that the casing can be filled without voids, the capacity of the buckets then being adapted to the dimensions of said articles and to their quantity.

Whatever the embodiment chosen, the front wall 8 extends over the entire length of the housing and forms a body, at its ends, with parts 14 arranged and organized symmetrically one from the other. These parts are separated by a clearance 15 in which a handle 16 is housed flat. Each part 14 has a core 17 and two wings 18 and 19.

The core 17 is integral with the foot of a flexible blade 20 whose upper free end or head 21 has a tooth lock 22 protruding outward. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the blade 20 is a portion of the core 17, which is separated from the latter on the sides by V-shaped slots 23 and 24.

The part 13 and the wall 8 delimit a well 25 in which the blade 20 can bend when the user presses it with the finger. During this bending, the tooth 22 escapes a locking notch 26 formed in the anterior wall 27 of the cover 2.

This low height front wall is complementary to the front wall 8 of the housing and to its end parts; in other words, the front wall 27 is shaped as a rectangular omega and is extended by side walls, themselves extended by the aforementioned hinged rear wall; all these walls integral with the top 28 of the cover cover the walls 7 to 9 of the housing 1 and abut at the front, in the closed position, on a bead 29, said front wall 8 in particular.

The cover 2 thus shaped, is like the housing 1, made of plastic material injected under pressure.

The wall 8 has projecting, facing the blade 20, a rib 30 limiting the deflection of unlocking of this blade.

When the box is closed, the teeth 22 of the blades 20 of the housing 1 are engaged in the notches 26 of the cover 2. This locking is in principle effective and solid. However, it is not excluded that the box unexpectedly opens, during a shock or a fall for example, and that its contents spill out. To remedy this drawback, an interlocking can be implemented.

In the example shown in Figures 4, 5 and 7, a plate 31 is housed in a recess 32 of the top 28 of the cover 2 and is guided in translation by its dovetail edges to be able to occupy two extreme positions (Figures 4 and 5). This plate or slide 31 is integral with a finger counter-lock 33 passing through a light 34 from above 28 and projecting into the corresponding well 25. In the intervention position shown in FIG. 5, the finger 33 is interposed between the blade 20 and the rib 30 and prevents the tooth from locking 22 of this blade to disengage from the notch 26 of the cover 2. In the retracted position shown in FIG. 4, the finger 33 is laterally distant from the blade 20 which can therefore bend and unlock by its tooth 22 from the notch 26.

The wing 19 of each part 15 delimits a lumen 35 intended to receive the corresponding end 36 of the handle 16 (FIGS. 6 and 8). This end forms two jaws 37 with inclined ramps 38, separated by a slot 39. To mount the handle, it suffices therefore to introduce the end in question into the corresponding lumen 35 and to push so that the inclined ramps 38 force the jaws 37 to approach and pass through said light. When these jaws open into the well 25, they move apart by elastic return and become trapped by the fact that rear shoulders 40 abut against the wing 19 when the handle 16 is pulled in order to form it in the curved grip and for lift the suitcase.

The handle tends to lie flat on at least one counter shoulder 41 at each end of the handle 16. The distance between the two counter shoulders 41 of the handle is shorter than that separating the two wings 19 so that '' a minimum bandage facilitates gripping while allowing its complete retraction in the clearance created by the two parts 14.

Claims (10)

1.- Suitcase box for the storage of various articles, in particular hardware for DIY, comprising a box (1) and a cover (2) whose rear walls are connected together by a hinge and whose front walls are capable of being locked relative to each other, the front wall of the housing being provided with a handle (16),
characterized in that the front wall (8) of the housing (1) is integral with two parts (14) substantially U-shaped and separated from each other by a recess (15) in which the handle (16) s 'extends, the core (17) of each U-shaped part (14) integral with the foot of a flexible blade (20) whose upper end has a tooth (22) projecting outwards and capable of cooperate with a notch (26) of the front wall (27) of the cover (2), while the wing (19) of the U-shaped part considered defining the clearance (15) delimits a light (35) in which can slide a free end (36) of the handle (16) which is provided with a stop means (40). 2.- Suitcase box according to claim 1, characterized in that the core (17) of each U-shaped part (14) constitutes in its vertical middle part the flexible blade (20) and delimits two slots (23, 24) opening at the top to free the sides of it. 3.- Suitcase box according to claim 2, characterized in that each U-shaped part (14) and the front wall (8) of the housing (1) define between them a well (25), the front wall projecting in the latter a rib (30) forming an end of bending stop of the blade (20) determining the unlocking. 4.- Suitcase box according to claim 3, characterized in that the cover (2) is provided with a retractable finger (33) capable of projecting into the well (25) of the housing (1) and of interposing between the rib (30) and the flexible blade (20) to lock said blade in the lid locking position. 5.- Suitcase box according to claim 4, characterized in that the or each locking finger (33) is integral with a slide (32) guided in the cover (2) and capable of occupying a locking position and a retracting position. 6. A suitcase box according to claim 3, characterized in that each end (36) of the handle (16) forms two jaws (37) separated by a slot (39), the two jaws being capable of approaching the one of the other when mounting the handle in the corresponding lumen (35), sliding in the well (25) when the handle is retracted and abutting by elastic return against the edges of said lumen when gripping of said handle which forms an arch. 7.- Suitcase box according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that longitudinal partitions (10) and transverse (11) integral with the housing (1) form boxes (12) for the storage of articles, boxes whose dimensions follow an increasing progression. 8.- Suitcase box according to claim 7, characterized in that the partitions (11) of the housing (1) are integral with vertical slides (13) for the establishment of labels. 9. A suitcase box according to claim 8, characterized in that the label holder slides (13) are located at the intersections of the partitions. 10.- Suitcase box according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the cups (40) are arranged side by side in the housing (1) free of internal projections.

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